How HealthShare Victoria can help you with the Healthy choices: policy directive

Health services

How HealthShare Victoria can help you with the Healthy choices: policy directive

Metal tray filled with meat sitting in a bain marie

HealthShare Victoria and the Healthy Eating Advisory Service have worked together to classify products commonly available to health services to assist them in meeting the requirements of the Healthy Choices: Policy directive.

Who is HealthShare Victoria?

HealthShare Victoria (HSV) was established on 1 January 2021 as a commercially oriented independent provider of supply chain, procurement and corporate shared services for Victoria’s public health sector.

HSV partners with Victoria’s public health services and suppliers to ensure the right products and services are delivered to the right place at the right time, supporting better value for public health services and better outcomes for their patients.

HSV has a collective agreement for Catering Supplies to supply food and beverages to health services.

*Note: Regional health services are able to directly purchase fresh bread, fresh meat, fresh poultry, and fresh fruit and vegetables from local suppliers rather than sourcing it through HSV’s collective agreement.

Products include:

  • Beverages
  • Fresh bread
  • Cooked meat
  • Fresh meat
  • Dairy products
  • Fresh poultry
  • Domestic kitchenware consumables
  • Fresh pre-prepared meals and meal components
  • Dry, chilled and frozen pantry items
  • Fresh white milk
  • Eggs
  • Pre-prepared desserts

Where can products from HSV’s Catering Supplies list be used?

  • Health service-managed (internal) cafes and kiosks
  • In-patient/residential menus that are also available to staff and visitors
  • Health service-managed vending machines.
  • In-house staff/event catering

How can HSV’s Catering Supplies contract help my health service?

The Department of Health and the Healthy Eating Advisory Service have classified many of the commonly-used products on the HSV Catering Supplies contract (HPVC2021-041) that health services access.

Items have been classified according to the Healthy Choices: food and drink classification guide, and these items are identifiable with GREEN and AMBER classifications in the contracted goods Pricing Schedule.

These classifications will assist health services in finding healthier options to help them meet Policy directive requirements.

How can I access information and products?

Health service personnel who have access to the HSV website contracts portal can access the Pricing Schedule and associated classifications via their health service HSV portal.

Portal access rights are determined by health services. If you have access, view the list by clicking this link: https://healthsharevic.org.au/contracts-and-tenders/contracts-and-documents?q=catering&limit=100&sort=title&dir=.

Once in the link, you can add the HPVC2021-041 Catering Supplies contract as a ‘favourite’, then select and press ‘submit’. Doing this will send you an email notification each time HSV uploads catering supplies information to the portal.

Health service personnel who don’t have access to the HSV portal can obtain a list of the classified products from the Healthy Eating Advisory Service or HSV.

How can my grocery distributor help me to make Healthy Choices?

A number of grocery distributors and suppliers have been involved in this process to understand and classify their products according to the Healthy Choices guidelines.

The Victorian Government has supported Nutrition Australia and the Healthy Eating Advisory Service to assist distributors in classifying their products and provide education sessions on the importance and value of providing Healthy Choices options in health services.

Your grocery distributors and suppliers may be able to assist you in finding additional GREEN/AMBER options.

If your distributors and/or suppliers require more information, they can refer to FoodChecker or contact the Healthy Eating Advisory Service for further support: 1300 22 52 88.

Where can I find more information?

For more information on HSV visit https://healthsharevic.org.au.

For portal access and information contact:

For information on understanding classifications and the Policy directive at your health service: Contact the Healthy Eating Advisory Service: 1300 22 52 88.

For more information please phone 1300 22 52 88 or email heas@nnf.org.au

Except where otherwise indicated, the images in this document show models and illustrative settings only, and do not necessarily depict actual services, facilities or recipients of services. This document may contain images of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In this document, ‘Aboriginal’ refers to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. ‘Indigenous’ or ‘Koori/Koorie’ is retained when part of the title of a report, program or quotation. Copyright © State of Victoria 2016

Written and reviewed by dietitians and nutritionists at National Nutrition Foundation, with support from the Victorian Government.

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